(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fire extinguishing and suppressing devices and more particularly to fire extinguishing and suppressing devices for use in vehicles.
(2) Brief Description of Prior Art
In the prior art various types of fire extinguishing devices have been used in vehicles, particularly in industrial, military and racing vehicles. Because of increasing consumer demand for improved safety features, there has also recently been greater interest in using such fire extinguishing devices in passenger vehicles. An impediment, however, to the development of vehicular fire extinguishing systems has developed due to regulatory limits on the use of HALON and other similar fire extinguishing compositions. A need exists, therefore, for a fire-extinguishing device which may be effectively activated in response to a vehicular fire and which effectively extinguishes fires without the use of HALON or other similar compositions.